Calling the emergency number 911 with vague concerns about a person who may be experiencing a drug overdose does not immunize that person from subsequent prosecution, a Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled in a pair of decisions that wade into interpreting the state’s Overdose Response Immunity Act.

A three-judge Superior Court panel ruled in two cases in mid-August that defendants convicted on drug charges failed to prove that police were initially called to the scene over fears that the defendants needed immediate medical attention. And without proving that the callers reached out to law enforcement due to overdose concerns, the defendants should not be granted immunity under the 2014 law, which is meant to encourage people to call the police when they believe a person is overdosing, the panel ruled.

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